Wall with floating stud



J y 1965 r L. GARTNER ETAL 3,

WALL WITH FLOATING STUD Filed April 27. 1961 IN V EV TOR.

Lzow GARTNER & BY HAROLD 7215512.

United States Patent 3,1%,S85 WALL WiTH FLUA'HNG STUD Lloyd Gartner,1900 Washington St, San Francisco, Ualih, and Harold Taber, SanFrancisco, Calif.; said Taher assignor to said Gartner Filed Apr. 27,1961, Ser. No. 105,969 1 (Ilairn. (til. Zh-d) Our present inventionrelates to building construction and more particularly to an erectablearea defining wall or partition which may be set up in a rapid,convenient and economical manner.

An object of the invention is to provide a wall construction employingprefabricated panel members and supporting frame members havinginterlocking parts which may be assembled in a practical and effectivemanner with a minimum of on-the-job carpentry.

Another object of the invention is to provide a wall construction havingprefabricated panel portions and floating studs with key slottedstandards for knife brackets which may be employed in variouscombinations to provide a supporting wall or partition for defining thelimits of a particular floor area or as a partition to divide up alarger floor area into smaller areas.

While our invention may find many uses and fields of application, it isat this time primarily intended to function as a wall or partition suchas is resorted to by large retail stores and the like to eithertemporarily or permanently partition off smaller portions of a givenfloor area to provide a convenient storage space immediately adjacentthe sales area. In this use, in addition to dividing up the floor space,our partition has the further advantage of providing a novel and neatappearing arrangement by which shelves and/or article supporting hangersmay be applied thereto and used in an effective and neat appearingmanner.

Other objects and advantages will be in part evident to those skilled inthe art and in part pointed out hereinafter in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein there is shown by way of illustration andnot of limitation a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of a wallor partition constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofthe invention,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary view showing a detail of one of the panelmembers as employed in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing details of theinvention in their assembled relationship,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of theassembly of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 5 is a further fragmentary view partly in section showing :amodified detail of the invention.

In its preferred form, as illustrated in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, we mayemploy any number of preformed panel members it? of the same ordifierent widths that are held in coplanar relation by a foundation orbase plate 11 and a tap plate 12 which is spaced vertically thereaboveat a distance corresponding to the height of the wall desired. As shown,the foundation plate 11 and the top plate 12 are preferably of channelcross-section, but this is not a necessary requirement. Extendingbetween the foundation plate 11 and the top plate 12 we employ a numberof vertically extending members or studs 13 that are frictionally seatedfor limited lateral movement at their ends within the channels of thefoundation plate 11 and the top plate 12. To this end the studs 13 areshown as notched along each of their edges as at 14 to accommodate theflanges of the channel members 11 and 12, the latter of which is in aninverted position. With this ar- Patented July 13, 1965 Ice rangement itis to be understood that the vertically extending members or studs 13are laterally movable between the channels 11 and 12 as a wall is beingassembled, as will hereinafter appear. While it is conceivable thatthese studs 13 may form a sufiicient support for the top plate 12, itwill be understood that the top plate 12 may be steadied or otherwisesecured in parallel relation above the foundation plate 11 by laterallyextending stays or brackets (not shown). In other circumstances we mayalso employ additional vertically extending studs that will bepermanently fixed and secured at their ends against lateral movementbetween the foundation plate 11 and the top plate 12. These fixed studs(not here shown) will be located at the ends of a partition or atapproximately every third or fourth one of the panels 19, and where theywill not interfere, as will hereinafter appear, with a lateral orfloating movement of the vertically extending studs 13 when the wall orpartition is being erected. In addition to being notched at their endsas at the points 14 the floating studs 13, as will be hereinafterexplained, also have a continuous vertically extending rabbet along oneor both outer sides into which bracket supporting standards 15' and aplurality of vertically spaced U-shaped clips 16 are mounted. Thebracket supporting standards 1.5 are of a conventional design and havevertically spaced key slots 17 into which key like extensions carried byshelf supporting brackets 13 or garment hangers 19 are inserted, asshown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing. As indicated at the left of FIGURE 1,these shelf supporting brackets 18 may be employed as a support forshelves 2% as here shown by dot and dash lines and the garment hangers19, as shown at the right of FIGURE 1, may be used independently of eachother or as a support for a hanger rod upon which garments may besuspended along the wall or partition with conventional garment hangers.

The panel members Iii may be of any available composition board such asMasonite or the like and can be obtained, as shown in FIGURE 2, with arabbet 21 cut or formed along each of the vertical edges thereof. Ashere indicated, the rabbets 21 are located substantially in the centerof the panel it with one side of the rabbet foreshortened as at 22 inchuch a manner that the other side of the rabbet will extend outwardlytherefrom as at 23. This configuration of the panels 10 with thedifferent degrees of extension at the sides of the rabbets 21 as at 22and 23 renders it possible, as illustrated in FIGURE 3 of the drawing,to secure the panels upon the studs 13 with dhferent degrees ofseparation when brought into engagement with outwardly disposed andoppositely extending tongues 24 of the clips 16. Under some conditionsof use it is conceivable that the bracket supporting standards 15 maynot be required and in such a case the adjacent panel members it) willbe brought into abutting relation to thus completely conceal clips 16and the underlying stud 13, as indicated at A in FIGURE 1 of thedrawing. Under other circumstances the panels 10 may be secured upon thestuds 13 in spaced relation with each other so as to expose the slots 17of the bracket supporting standard 15, as shown at B in FIGURE 1.

As is more clearly illustrated in FIGURE 4 of the drawing, the notchedor recessed portions 14 of the floating studs 13 are of such characterthat the outer sides of the studs 13 will be substantially flush withthe outer surfaces of the flanges carried by the channel like base andtop plates If and 12 and therefore the panel lil when iinally assembledas indicated in FIGURES 1 and 3 of the drawing will lie substantiallyflat against the surface of the studs 13 at each side of the rabbets 25carried by the studs 13 in which the bracket supporting studs 15 and theclips 16 are shown as mounted. At their upper and lower ends 3 thepreformed panel members 10 will be held in engagement with the outersides of the flanges of the foundation plate 11 and the upper plate 12.

In FIGURE 5 of the drawing We have shown a modification of the inventionin which instead of employing a metallic foundation plate 12 of channelcross-section we may employ a wooden plate25 or a similar plate in aninverted position in which there is formed a longitudinally extending.slot 26 into which a depending portion 27 of a clip 28 is recessed. Ashere shown, the clip 28 has upstanding sides or flanges 29 along eachside between which the studs'may be positioned and held in properalignment above and below the'bottom and top plates.

When the panels and the floating studs 13 are formed and equipped asdescribed the matter of assembling the wall will be carried out in thefollowing manner. First assuming that the foundation plate 11 and theupper plate 12 are properly aligned and secured in vertically spacedrelation, as shown in FIGURE 1 of the drawing, one of the floating studs13 will be positioned,.for example, at the left of the assembly as hereshown with two of the panels 10 interlocking with the tongues 24 ofthe'clips 16 carried thereby. If at this position no knife brackets,such as the brackets 18 and 19, are required these first two panels 10will be brought into abutting contact with each other. As the next step,another of the I floating studs 13 will be maneuvered laterally betweenthe top and bottom plates llfand 12 to bring the tongues of the clipscarried thereby into interlocking relation with the rabbets at theadjacent'side of the second above men tioned panel 10. Then a thirdpanel 10 will be moved laterally into engagementswith the tongues 24- ofthe clip 16 of the adjacent floating stud 13. At this point should it bedesired to employ key brackets 18 or 19 this third panel 10 will bestopped short of the second panel 10 so as to expose the slots 17 in thebracket supporting standard 15. Finally, to complete the wall for anydesired length these operations may be repeated by adding panels 10 tothe wall as the floating studs 13 are likewise successively inserted andmoved laterally between the top and bottom plates 11 and 12. A featureof this assembly is that the floating studs 13 and the panels 10 will befrictionally held between the top and bottom plates Hand 12 without anysecuring means such as nails, rivets or the like.

While we have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose ourinvention so that the'same can be readily understood, described andillustrated a specific form and arrangement, we desire to have itunderstood that this invention is not limited to the specific formdisclosed, but may be embodied in other ways that will suggest them- Qselves to persons skilled in the art. It isbelieved that this inventionis new and all such changes as come within the scope of the appendedclaim are to be considered as part of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

In a dismountable wall for a temporary or permanent interiorpartitioning purpose, the combination of a base forming channel member,an upper ceiling supported channel member, a plurality of verticallyextending studs movably held between said channel members having arabbet along at least one. side thereof, a plurality of U-shaped clipssecured at vertically spaced points within the rabbet of said studshaving oppositely extending tongues formed integrally therewith, saidoppositely extending tongues being spaced outwardly from the surface ofsaid studs adjacent the rabbet therein and parallel thereto, anelongated shelf supporting channel member having conventional shelfbracket accommodating slots in the web thereof disposed Within saidrabbet and over said U-shaped clips and secured to said'studsindependently of said clips with the slotted web outwardly'disposed, andcooperating panel members having continuous rabbets extending centrallyalong their meeting edges and receiving corresponding clip tongues,characterized by the fact that the rabbets in the meeting sides of saidpanel formed members are of a depth and have edges of unequal width,whereby said panels when positioned upon said studs with one side outthe longer sides of said rabbet will meet and conceal saidshelfsupporting member and when positioned upon said studs with thereverse side out the shorter sides of said rabbet will expose the shelfsupporting slots of said bracket supporting member.

FOREIGN PATENTS 6/57 Norway.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner. HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Examiner.

